USC (20K/yr) or Emory (24K/yr)

Withdrew from all my schools today except USC and Emory. Now I have to make a tough decision. Oy. I've got 20K/yr at USC, 24K/yr at Emory. Looking for Biglaw or at least a job that will allow me to pay down my debt. Not sure where I want to live, just know it needs to be a big city. USC is far from home and everyone I know, CA economy is circling the drain, would cost probably 40K more than Emory, and I'd have to get a roommate and still live like a broke ass college student for another 3 years. BUT I want to do communications/entertainment law, and the course listing at Emory didn't excite or intrigue me at all, while the opportunities for study at USC seem really exciting, especially with the addition of John Schulman to the school. At Emory I could live alone, close to school, and have a higher QOL, whereas at USC I would have to either live in the ghetto close to school or have a bitch of a commute everyday. Add to that the fact that CA has earthquakes and wildfires and horrid traffic and no seasons.

Visited Emory today. Loved the area and the city of Atlanta. Could very much see myself fitting in here. Ready to put a deposit down at Emory, but feel like I'm missing something. Does anyone else have any other thoughts? I'm mostly worried about career prospects. Are they going to be that much better out of USC?

anniesaysrelax wrote:Visited Emory today. Loved the area and the city of Atlanta. Could very much see myself fitting in here. Ready to put a deposit down at Emory, but feel like I'm missing something. Does anyone else have any other thoughts? I'm mostly worried about career prospects. Are they going to be that much better out of USC?

If you're not set on working in California, either choice would be great. USC is a clear winner if you want to work in California, and Emory is a clear winner if you want to work in the south. Neither school has a terribly strong national reach, so I would make a decision based on 1) where you can see yourself working and living after school, and 2) which school is a better "fit" (campus vibe, city vibe, curriculum, $$$, weather, QOL, etc.).

Having said that, you can't really beat USC's entertainment law program. But you should keep in mind that many students enter law school with thoughts of practicing one field of law only to find that their interests lie elsewhere... Certainly food for thought...

And I agree with entrechatsix, to be honest. It sounds like you're searching for an excuse to NOT enroll at Emory, haha!

anniesaysrelax wrote:Visited Emory today. Loved the area and the city of Atlanta. Could very much see myself fitting in here. Ready to put a deposit down at Emory, but feel like I'm missing something. Does anyone else have any other thoughts? I'm mostly worried about career prospects. Are they going to be that much better out of USC?

If you're not set on working in California, either choice would be great. USC is a clear winner if you want to work in California, and Emory is a clear winner if you want to work in the south. Neither school has a terribly strong national reach, so I would make a decision based on 1) where you can see yourself working and living after school, and 2) which school is a better "fit" (campus vibe, city vibe, curriculum, $$$, weather, QOL, etc.).

Having said that, you can't really beat USC's entertainment law program. But you should keep in mind that many students enter law school with thoughts of practicing one field of law only to find that their interests lie elsewhere... Certainly food for thought...

And I agree with entrechatsix, to be honest. It sounds like you're searching for an excuse to NOT enroll at Emory, haha!

Kind of this. But also, when I started this cycle USC was my top choice and my dream school, so realizing that it's not what may be best is kind of hard to accept. I'm really more searching for reasons to go to USC I think. I just can't come up with enough to justify it.

anniesaysrelax wrote:Visited Emory today. Loved the area and the city of Atlanta. Could very much see myself fitting in here. Ready to put a deposit down at Emory, but feel like I'm missing something. Does anyone else have any other thoughts? I'm mostly worried about career prospects. Are they going to be that much better out of USC?

If you're not set on working in California, either choice would be great. USC is a clear winner if you want to work in California, and Emory is a clear winner if you want to work in the south. Neither school has a terribly strong national reach, so I would make a decision based on 1) where you can see yourself working and living after school, and 2) which school is a better "fit" (campus vibe, city vibe, curriculum, $$$, weather, QOL, etc.).

Having said that, you can't really beat USC's entertainment law program. But you should keep in mind that many students enter law school with thoughts of practicing one field of law only to find that their interests lie elsewhere... Certainly food for thought...

And I agree with entrechatsix, to be honest. It sounds like you're searching for an excuse to NOT enroll at Emory, haha!

Kind of this. But also, when I started this cycle USC was my top choice and my dream school, so realizing that it's not what may be best is kind of hard to accept. I'm really more searching for reasons to go to USC I think. I just can't come up with enough to justify it.

Have you ever been to USC? Have you spent much time in LA? Downtown LA? I hope so, if it was really your dream school.

I love USC Law because I'm from LA and I want to work in socal. It's a phenomenal choice for anyone that wants to work in LA. But I'd say it's pretty risky for someone to accept an offer if she's never visited the campus. As you know, you shouldn't expect the glitz and glamor of LA... Far from it...

anniesaysrelax wrote:Visited Emory today. Loved the area and the city of Atlanta. Could very much see myself fitting in here. Ready to put a deposit down at Emory, but feel like I'm missing something. Does anyone else have any other thoughts? I'm mostly worried about career prospects. Are they going to be that much better out of USC?

If you're not set on working in California, either choice would be great. USC is a clear winner if you want to work in California, and Emory is a clear winner if you want to work in the south. Neither school has a terribly strong national reach, so I would make a decision based on 1) where you can see yourself working and living after school, and 2) which school is a better "fit" (campus vibe, city vibe, curriculum, $$$, weather, QOL, etc.).

Having said that, you can't really beat USC's entertainment law program. But you should keep in mind that many students enter law school with thoughts of practicing one field of law only to find that their interests lie elsewhere... Certainly food for thought...

And I agree with entrechatsix, to be honest. It sounds like you're searching for an excuse to NOT enroll at Emory, haha!

Kind of this. But also, when I started this cycle USC was my top choice and my dream school, so realizing that it's not what may be best is kind of hard to accept. I'm really more searching for reasons to go to USC I think. I just can't come up with enough to justify it.

Have you ever been to USC? Have you spent much time in LA? Downtown LA? I hope so, if it was really your dream school.

I love USC Law because I'm from LA and I want to work in socal. It's a phenomenal choice for anyone that wants to work in LA. But I'd say it's pretty risky for someone to accept an offer if she's never visited the campus. As you know, you shouldn't expect the glitz and glamor of LA... Far from it...

Yeah, I visited. Really enjoyed the school and the opportunities it would afford me. The location, not so much. That's where Emory really has USC beat in my mind.

Annie, I'm in the same boat as you. My $$ numbers are a little different but my choices are down to the two schools. I also have an interest in Entertainment Law, however the impression I got from the FAQs portion of USC's website seems to indicate that the field is extremely difficult to get into. With that in mind I'm hesitant to travel across the country (I'm from the Southeast) and end up with a ton of debt while the likelihood of getting into that field is fairly slim. Also, according to the NALP's "Official Guide to Legal Specialties" if you study Corporate Law its not uncommon to transition into Entertainment once you've been practicing for a bit. That being said I'll probably end up at Emory.

anniesaysrelax wrote:Withdrew from all my schools today except USC and Emory. Now I have to make a tough decision. Oy. I've got 20K/yr at USC, 24K/yr at Emory. Looking for Biglaw or at least a job that will allow me to pay down my debt. Not sure where I want to live, just know it needs to be a big city. USC is far from home and everyone I know, CA economy is circling the drain, would cost probably 40K more than Emory, and I'd have to get a roommate and still live like a broke ass college student for another 3 years. BUT I want to do communications/entertainment law, and the course listing at Emory didn't excite or intrigue me at all, while the opportunities for study at USC seem really exciting, especially with the addition of John Schulman to the school. At Emory I could live alone, close to school, and have a higher QOL, whereas at USC I would have to either live in the ghetto close to school or have a bitch of a commute everyday. Add to that the fact that CA has earthquakes and wildfires and horrid traffic and no seasons.

What is a girl to do? Please help! PLEEEEEAAASSEE!

Edit: Rationale for the choice would be helpful...

Relax, Annie, the negatives of CA is greatly exaggerated, and you know it. I live not far from LA, and there has only been 3 major wildfires in the past two years, with not even ten human casualties. Most earthquakes are only detectable by dogs and other sensitive animals, and what if there are no seasons, when the one weather you have is the good one.

This is clearly the answer. Entertainment law is really only viable in LA anyway

Maybe I should amend it to be entertainment law is really only likely viable in LA. I know Entertainment Lawyers doing well in Indiana, but that doesn't mean I'd consider a career in Entertainment Law viable there.

Besides... the country music scene is in Nashville, not Atlanta... right?